In Russia, students are being recruited into drone warfare units
In Russia, student group leaders at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics have been instructed to recruit at least two fellow students each month for service in the Unmanned Systems Forces (USF), according to lawyer Artem Klyga.
“Two people are urgently needed already today. If there are more, that is only welcome,” a screenshot of a message sent to group leaders states.
According to Klyga, large-scale recruitment campaigns for the Unmanned Systems Forces began in Russian universities at the end of January. Recruitment guidelines for students are being distributed directly by the Russian Ministry of Defence. Similar activity has been reported at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT), Bauman Moscow State Technical University, the Russian University of Transport, and the Institute of Food Technologies and Design.
Earlier, the Higher School of Economics (HSE) offered students the option of completing one year of service in the Unmanned Systems Forces as an “alternative to expulsion”, after which they could resume their studies.
At the same time, in 2025 the Russian Ministry of Defence formally established the Unmanned Systems Forces, appointing Yuriy Vaganov as their commander — a supplier of FPV drones to the army who has no prior military service experience.
Russian forces continue to employ so-called “blocking detachment” tactics, killing their own soldiers for attempting to save their lives or withdraw from combat.
In Kupiansk, Kharkiv region, a small remaining group of Russian troops continues to hold defensive positions in one of the central districts of the city.
